Lately....the 'idiot box' seems to be in a bid to fashion a more sensible avatar, with serious advertisements of how Congress is saving India, and how 'women win, when they vote'. But impetus is always virtual, and reality is always harsh. Can women vote in India? Yes! Do their vote count? Yes! But are women on the same weight as men? Not likely. Men in India, are swirling in the fog of superstitions and parochial ideas, often forgetting that their gender counter-parts are the same flesh and blood that they are. I could either present a few facts, revolving atrocities like rapes, dowry deaths, and eve-teasing....or I could talk about the bigger issue at hand. The writing on the wall, cries out that men are narrow-minded and apprehensive about the rise of women in our society. What better to solidify this than the fact that the women's reservation bill is still pending in the Lok Sabha. Though out in the open, we are bragging about women's empowerment and equality, once inside the 4 secretive corners of our house, we subject our women to the most heinous and brutal treatment. This, in stark contrast to the serene position that women occupied in the archaic history of our country. In this regard, I have to make the submission that the western nations are much further ahead than us in treating their women with dignity and respect. But we are still sulking over the hellish condition that our women negotiate every day, with very little intent to actually solve the dilemma at hand. Our women are craving for change. But the people who matter seem to be ignoring this issue at large. Parties are compiling bulky manifestos with probable and bizarre claims in an effort to win over the people. But it seems like the nutshell brains of these politicians haven't registered the fact that 'the power of 49' means that 49 % of the voters are women. So the apt caption is.....when women vote, parties win. But the 'logic of 49' has left many politicians gaping and pouting as to how this is possible.
The AAP with all it's hype, in reality, failed to address the issue of 'atrocities against women'(which has now become an Indian syllable) during it's cameo at the capital. Kejriwal swept the women-folk with promises of a safe Delhi....but even he couldn't sweep the moral debris from the 'minds of these mindless monsters'. But credit be given to the fact that parties do take this issue seriously now. Yet, a strange anguish engulfs our spirits as another case drapes our ears. The number of such crimes have increased to the extent of a plausible newspaper page being reserved for it. Truth be told, women now seem to be craving for an alternative....somebody who can not only understand, but materialise their needs. For a moment it seemed like Kejriwal was dubbing women as AAP...but then, the archaic momentary brethren between BJP and Congress kicked in and the honeymoon was over! So much for women win, when they vote. The BJP and Congress have a good history of women empowerment as far as the ropes stretch for the top brass....vis-a-vis Sonia Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj. But their definition and jurisdiction seem to end with 'I' and 'J'.
To bring out atrocities is one thing, and to solve them is another. Programmes like the much hyped, and less typed Satyamev Jayethe bring out figures that deepen the wounds and graft the burns. What India needs right now is an effective vigilance force that can prevent such crimes from surfacing. But the 'strange case of Indian women' seems to be getting more stranger with our protectors becoming the predators. When women resort to reporting to the police, they utilise the helpless situation of these women, and prey on them. The khaki is now stained to an extent fro where there is no reprisal.
